Is it really beneficial to take regular cold baths?

We usually consider warm baths as better than cold baths or cold showers, whereas they both have their benefit. Science has backed the beneficial effects of cold showers. Exposing your body to cold stimulate “fight or flight” response that releases 3 key hormones: norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. All these 3 hormones stay elevated for an extended period, improving mental alertness and stress relief. This also improves mood, energy, and focus. A 1-minute to 30 second cold shower can do wonders for you in long term. Cold shower triggers thermogenesis, improving fat burn, better fat, sugar and insulin balance.

7 Health benefits of the cold shower

1. Improve mental health
2. Stress buster
3. Increased metabolic activity
4. Improves immunity
5. Faster recovery from injury
6. Healthy hair and skin
7. Better insulin sensitivity

Scientific Insights of Health Benefits of Clod Shower

• Improve mental health

Taking a cold shower every day is not an easy task. It takes a strong mind to endure the cold. Incorporation of cold showers into daily routine strengthens willpower, builds resilience and improves alertness. Cold showers wake the body up, inducing a higher state of alertness. The cold also stimulates us to take deeper breaths, increasing oxygen intake and decreasing the level of CO₂ throughout the body. This boosts brain function, helping you concentrate. Cold showers thus can keep you ready and focused throughout the day. Overtraining syndrome, which is chronic fatigue, cold water exposure can help to improve it.

• Stress buster

Regular cold shower improves stress response in the body. Cold showers induce acute short-term stress every day, causing the nervous system to gradually get used to handling moderate stress levels. This process helps to keep a cool head in a stressful situation. However, with the numerous health benefits, there is no doubt that a cold shower makes people more alert at the beginning of the day. After a night of sleep, your body often needs a boost to start working at its full capacity – a cold shower is the perfect solution. Soaking in cold water increases dopamine levels by 250%, related to an instant mood upliftment. Cold water signals the brain to release endorphins, the feel-good hormone that decreases depression symptoms and anxiety.

• Increased metabolic activity

Cold showers boost fat metabolism and thermogenesis. People who take a daily cold bath show an increased metabolism due to increased activation of brown adipose tissue (the good fat) that produces heat and protects us from the cold. Brown fat is the bed fat that needs to be burned for better fat balance and lean body mass. Research has shown that cold showers and increased metabolic rates directly stimulate brown fat production. Brown fat is a special type of adipose tissue that produces energy by burning calories. Cold showers are an effective tool for people who are looking to lose some weight.

• Improves immunity

Scientific studies have shown that cold showers increase the production of white blood cells in the body. White blood cells protect our body against disease. This process is associated with an increased metabolic rate, stimulating an immune response.

• Faster recovery from injury

Cold showers improve oxygen flow in muscles, boosting recovery from injury. Cold water immersion for athletic performance is well documented and widely practiced by elite athletes in need of rapid recovery. Antiinflammatory and metabolic effects of cold showers also reduce muscle inflammation and pain.

Also Read: Harmful Effects of Cold Drinks Part 1 and 2

• Healthy hair and skin

Cold showers have been revealed to improve your hair and skin. After a cold shower, the skin becomes more taught, and that feeling is the skin’s pores contracting. Furthermore, cold water does not wash away the natural oils on the skin the way hot water does. Cold shower improves blood circulation in skin and hair roots, which is very good for growth and shine.

• Better insulin sensitivity

Repeated exposure to cold can lower fasting blood glucose and insulin levels and improve the management of dietary fatty acids. Cold showers induce acute stress, causing an increase in metabolic rate and transiently activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The elevated level of norepinephrine and epinephrine increases glucose breakdown to fulfill the need for instant energy. Regular cold showers can gradually increase glucose burning and better insulin sensitivity.

Conclusion

Making a cold shower daily habit can totally get on board with good life quality and performance.

FAQs

How long does it take to take a cold shower?

Cold showers can be practiced anywhere from 1 minute to 30 minutes to several hours, depending on how cold the water is and how long you were in it.

What temperature of water is considered a cold shower?

First, the temperature of the water for your cold showers needs to be cold enough. Research suggests at least 15°C or colder. To assume the water is cold enough without a thermometer, it should trigger what’s known as the “initial inspiratory gasp”. But you also need to stay in the cold for long enough.

Can cold baths cause any health benefits?

Even if your hormone levels aren’t immediately appreciable, you may still feel beneficial and in a better mood. But over time, your body adapts to the cold, and the hormonal response seems to diminish. Once you notice this, cool the water or stay in it longer.

For more learning: visit Scientific information on 7 Health benefits of the cold shower

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